This invention relates to novel benzenobenzisoquinoline derivatives, pharmaceutical compositions containing the novel compounds and methods of using the novel compounds to alleviate depression in mammals.
Mental illnesses include psychoses and neuroses. The symptoms requiring treatment include depression, anxiety, agitation and hallucinations. Drugs used particularly for treatment of both reactive and endogenous depressions include monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors such as iproniazid, tranylcypromine, nialamide, phenelzine and pargyline and the non-MAO inhibition tricyclic aromatic dibenzazepines such as imipramine and dibenzocycloheptadienes such as amitriptyline.
All of these drugs have side effects that limit their usefulness. The MAO inhibitors may cause tremors, insomnia, hyperhydrosis, agitation, hypermanic behavior, confusion, hallucinations, convulsions, orthostatic hypertension and death. They frequently cause dizziness, vertigo, headache, inhibition of ejaculation, difficulty in urination, weakness, fatigue, dry mouth, constipation and blurred vision. Imipramine may cause blurred vision, dryness of mouth, constipation, urinary retention, orthostatic hypotension, respiration depression, myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure. Similar difficulties are experienced with amitriptyline.
There is a genuine need for psychotherapeutic agents which are effective and have fewer side effects than the drugs in use today. There is also need for drugs which have different modes of action than those presently used since none of the known drugs is completely effective.